As Graham laid out the rules of the match, Travis smiled. Graham and Zach had shown him that their crazy arrangement could work. And Cam was his best friend … so why the fuck not? He’d seen the way Lia looked at them both … and the way she’d looked with longing at Ro, Graham, and Zach. He was willing to bet it all she wouldn’t be the difficult one to convince in this situation. No, that honor would undoubtedly go to Cam, the possessive motherfucker.
They bumped knuckles, and Travis had to laugh at the fact that Jamie had had two pairs of MMA gloves in his sea bag. He also looked fucking jealous that he wasn’t standing in the middle of their makeshift ring out in the field beyond the walls but within their fence line. Apparently they needed to add fight night to the list of entertainment activities. The guys on watch were expecting radio updates, so Jamie took the roll of commentator.
“You ready?” Graham looked from Travis to Cam.
Travis nodded. “Fuck yeah, I’m ready.”
“Ready to get your ass beat,” Cam growled.
They bumped gloves and stepped back.
Graham signaled for them to start and backed out of the ring.
Travis bounced on his feet, and they began to circle each other. He didn’t waste any time charging Cam, right fist swinging out with a haymaker. Might as well set the pace early.
Cam dodged and threw a low jab that caught Travis in the gut. But he barely felt it with his pumping adrenaline.
“That all you got?” he taunted.
“Fuck you, man.” Cam’s fist flashed, and Travis was still laughing when it landed on his jaw. His head snapped sideways, and he caught a glimpse of brown hair running toward them.
“Fuck,” he grunted.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Stop!” Lia yelled.
“Oh shit,” Cam said. He swung around and caught Lia in his arms as she stormed into the circle.
Travis’s fists clenched in his gloves. He wanted to be the one to hold her. Fuck, he wanted thembothto hold her.
He moved in next to them and pushed the hair that had slipped from her ponytail behind her ear.
Cam’s eyes shot to Travis’s, but instead of being pissed, he looked upset.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re stopping, don’t worry,” Cam said, trying to calm her.
Lia shoved away from them both.
“Don’t worry?Don’t freaking worry? Are you serious?” She slammed a hand on each of their chests and looked from Travis to Cam and back again. “I don’t know what you think you’re proving here, but consider it over.”
Travis’s lips tugged with a smile. He felt like the last hazy filter that had clung to Lia had been ripped away. She was standing there, thrumming with life—and seemingly oblivious to the guys standing around them. Travis couldn’t help but stoke her emotions higher.
“Calm down, baby. No harm, no foul.”
Travis could’ve sworn that every man in the circle—and the sole woman—groaned. But he’d broken the cardinal rule—never tell a woman to calm down when she was pissed—on purpose. He’d lit the fuse with intent to watch her burn as brightly as she could.
“Calm down?” Lia’s attention swung to him, and her hand dropped off Cam’s chest. “You two are acting like I’m something you can fight over andwin, and you want me tocalm down?”
Cam laid a hand on Lia’s shoulder and squeezed. “Let’s take this somewhere less public.” Travis was only partly surprised when Cam’s eyes met his and held. “All three of us.”
“Fine,” Lia said, spinning and heading back to the wall. “I don’t want the rest of the guys to hear what I have to say to you, so we can definitely do this in private.” Her words were tossed over her shoulder as she stalked away, worn jeans clinging to her lusciously rounded ass.
Travis was still grinning at the feisty side of Lia that had come out full force when Cam punched him in the shoulder. “What the fuck are you smiling about? You just lost.”
Travis shook his head. “Fuck no, brother. We both just won.”
Cam frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”
“You’ll find out. Just … promise me you’ll keep an open mind. Come on. Let’s not make her wait.”